Girard College HS students stranded during camping trip to North Carolina

About 30 local high school students are stranded in Asheville, North Carolina.

They were camping with Girard College and the North Carolina Outward Bound Program for a week.

Some of their parents say the students arrived a week ago and were supposed to return on Friday, but they became stranded due to Hurricane Helene.

"We seen all these floods and stuff and we got worried about where the kids at," said Terrell Dragon, whose 14-year-old daughter, Tiara, is one of the students stranded. "Then we found out that they're stuck on a mountain."

RELATED: Hurricane Helene leaves at least 107 dead and a 500-mile path of destruction

The students, along with a teacher and two resident advisors, left for the camping trip in the Blue Ridge Mountains a week ago. Parents tell Action News the group was supposed to return on Friday, but when it looked like that was not going to happen, parents allege Girard College began to clue them in on what was happening.

"They kept updating us every three hours saying the kids were doing OK. They got enough food, enough water. We don't know when we'll be able to get them out of there. The roads are blocked," said Dargan.

Girard College released a statement on the matter:

"Thirty-one of our 9th grade students, together with a teacher and two resident advisors, are temporarily unable to return from their week-long Outward Bound enrichment program due to damaged roads caused by Hurricane Helene. All students and adults are safe and are being cared for while Outward Bound works with local and state officials to clear the roads that provide access to the camp, which is located in Asheville, NC. We are in constant communication with the program, and we have been assured that our children will be transported back to Philadelphia as soon as road and weather conditions permit safe travel.

This is the second year that Girard 9th graders have attended Outward Bound, which provides wilderness experiences to teach life lessons and skills for students from schools across the country, including many Philadelphia area private schools.

We appreciate the continued patience and support of the students and their families while we await the campers' safe return."

Parents said they were confused as to why the school didn't cancel the trip when it realized a dangerous storm was heading toward Asheville.

A representative for Girard College said the school and Outward Bound discussed many scenarios and made a decision that they thought was in the best interest of student safety.

Dargan said he was able to briefly speak to his daughter on Sunday after power was restored in the area where the group is stranded. He said he could hear in his daughter's voice that she was concerned.

"These kids are not OK," he said. "They're upset, they're worried and they're scared."